Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The issues Deputy Wallace has raised have been silenced by the mainstream media here in the South and we will ignore these issues at our peril. Not too far up the road we have a man who has been in jail for three years who meets all the criteria of the Good Friday Agreement, whose licence was revoked, allegedly for security reasons. He and his legal team have not been informed of these reasons and decisions have been made behind closed doors. The exact same situation faces Martin Corey and the very ill Marian Price, people who have not been presented with the cases against them and who have remained in custody for years. This is not the type of approach that will bring peace in the North. These people are becoming symbols of a continued injustice, and of the fact that internment without trial is still alive and well. There cannot be peace unless justice is done openly and transparently.

I am not a nationalist or a republican. I am an internationalist and am concerned about these issues very much from a human rights point of view, and that is why we have been involved in the cross-party delegations to Maghaberry Prison. It is absolutely reprehensible that the prison authorities and the establishment in the North and Britain have breached agreements and promises regarding prisoners' conditions which should allow the men to go out onto the landings and socially interact, to get an education, to engage in handicrafts and other issues which deal with rehabilitation. This is not a way forward to bring a conflict-free environment. It is not in the interests of the prisoners or the staff in that prison. Unless we here address these issues we cannot have a lasting peace. I urge the authorities in the South to exert pressure for a desperately needed resolution of these issues.

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